War of the Worlds - Preview

"IT'S going to be exciting, it's going to be really scary,
and it's going to maintain the tone of HG Wells."

So says Tom Cruise, as the hype begins to build around his latest
blockbuster, War of the Worlds, which reunites him with Minority
Report director, Steven Spielberg.

The dream team duo got back together last year after it was announced
that both of their respective projects had been delayed - Cruise's
Mission Impossible
3 due to the lack of a director, and Spielberg's Olympics
movie because of the timing.

As a result, War of the Worlds has emerged to become a contender
for one of the biggest blockbusters of the year - as well as providing
the likes of Star
Wars and Batman
that they won't be having it all their own way this year.

Shooting on the movie began on November 2, 2004, with a view
to being completed in time for a US release date on June 28, 2005
- which would be no mean achievement given the number of special
effects shots that are anticipated.

A poster has already appeared, which
features some green tentacles clasped around the world, while
teaser trailers suggest something very special - more on a par
with the alien invasion of Independence Day, rather than the people-friendly
likes of ET or Close Encounters of the Third
Kind.

Cruise certainly predicts that this will be a movie adventure
to thrill audiences, rather than having them feeling warm and
sentimental.

"These guys are coming to dominate earth," he warned.

And from stills and trailers thus far, he could well be right.
Advance footage includes plenty of shots of people looking to
the sky and being terrified.

While the HG Wells book on which the film is based - written
in 1898 - featured aliens that were far from loveable.

What's more, the film has quickly amassed a quality support cast,
including child of the moment, Dakota Fanning (Man
on Fire), Tim Robbins and Mirando (Lord
of the Rings) Otto.

Adds Cruise, in an interview with Empire magazine: "It's
the kind of movie that, as a kid, you'd cut as many lawns as you
can, so you could get the money to see the film on day one."